ChordWheel › Keys › D major
Chords in the key of D major
D major has 2 sharps (F♯ C♯). Its seven chords are D, Em, F♯m, G, A, Bm, C♯° . Its relative minor is B minor , which uses the same chords with Bm as home.
C major A minor C Am G major E minor G Em IV ii D major B minor D Bm I vi A major F♯ minor A F♯m V iii E major C♯ minor E C♯m B major G♯ minor B G♯m F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm F major D minor F Dm D 4 2 1 6 5 3 On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.
Open D major in the interactive wheel
The seven chords
Number Chord 7th chord I D Dmaj7 ii Em Em7 iii F♯m F♯m7 IV G Gmaj7 V A A7 vi Bm Bm7 vii° C♯° C♯m7♭5
I
× × open
10fr root on 6th string
D · F♯ · A ii
open
7fr × root on 5th string
E · G · B iii
root on 6th string
9fr × root on 5th string
F♯ · A · C♯ IV
open
3fr root on 6th string
G · B · D V
× open
5fr root on 6th string
A · C♯ · E vi
7fr root on 6th string
× root on 5th string
B · D · F♯ 7th chords
Common progressions in D major
D A Bm G I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) D Bm G A I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) Bm G D A vi IV I V The same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style) D G A I IV V Three-chord rock, blues and country Em A D ii V I The jazz cadence D C G D I ♭VII IV I Rock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine) D G Gm D I IV iv I The bittersweet ending (Creep)
Borrowed from the minor Chords from D minor dropped into D major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).
Secondary dominants A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.
Colour chords The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (Dsus4 → D). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: Dsus2, Dsus4, Dadd9); the small label is the slot they sit in.
The D major scale
D major: D E F♯ G A B C♯ . The key's seven chords are built from these notes; the borrowed and secondary chords above bring in notes from outside it.
Related keys
G major : one step counterclockwise; C♯ becomes C. A smooth key change.A major : one step clockwise; G becomes G♯. A smooth key change.B minor : the relative minor, same notes.D minor : the parallel minor, same home note, where the borrowed chords come from.
Questions What chords are in the key of D major? The seven chords in D major are D, Em, F#m, G, A, Bm, C#°. As 7th chords: Dmaj7, Em7, F#m7, Gmaj7, A7, Bm7, C#m7b5.
How many sharps or flats does D major have? D major has 2 sharps (F# C#).
What is the relative minor of D major? B minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in D major? I V vi IV: D A Bm G; I vi IV V: D Bm G A; vi IV I V: Bm G D A.